New Deputy Director at IEP

21/01/2026

IEP is pleased to announce that Daniel Hegedüs has been appointed as Deputy Director of the Institute, effective February 2026.

A recognised expert on autocratisation and the erosion of the rule of law within the European Union, Hegedüs brings more than 15 years of experience in the European and transatlantic think-tank and democracy-support sector.

Since 2019, Daniel Hegedüs has served as Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. His career also includes research and project management positions at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Freedom House, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and the security consultancy Control Risks. He has also taught at Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.

Commenting on his appointment, Daniel Hegedüs said:

At a time when preserving the unity, functionality and output legitimacy of the European Union is more crucial than ever for safeguarding Europe’s security, prosperity and democratic governance, the IEP represents a unique institution. As a leading European ‘think-and-do tank’, it combines rigorous policy research with impactful dialogue and educational formats in the service of European values. I am very much looking forward to contributing to this important work.

Prof. Dr Funda Tekin, Director of the IEP, also welcomed the appointment:

His extensive expertise and networks in the fields of the rule of law, democratic governance and Eastern Europe strengthen the IEP’s strategic thinking on the future of the EU, and he completes the Institute’s management structures. This will help to further enhance the IEP’s important voice in academia, policymaking and civic education.

As Deputy Director, Daniel Hegedüs will focus in particular on the organisational and programmatic development of the IEP as well as on fundraising. At the same time, he will contribute to the Institute’s research agenda on democratic security, the rule of law and democratic conditionality, as well as on the relationship between democracy and autocracy in foreign policy.